


Let Me Go

by everywintersbreath



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Lots of supernatural creatures, M/M, also magic, mentions of physical pain, some self deprecation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 02:26:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14843849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everywintersbreath/pseuds/everywintersbreath
Summary: Junhui is desperate to find a solution to their problem that lets both of them stay alive.or an au where wonwoo is a spirit who’s unwillingly draining jun’s life force





	Let Me Go

**Author's Note:**

> i woke up in the middle of the night and wrote this on my phone sorry about formatting or anything that doesn’t make sense

Junhui can see himself reflected in Wonwoo’s dark pupils, the warm light from the lamp illuminating Wonwoo’s greying skin and making him appear slightly more alive.

“Jun,” Wonwoo starts, voice deep and melodic. There’s a hint of pain in his voice and Junhui closes his eyes softly, predicting what he’s about to say. “Shh,” he murmurs. “You already know my answer.”

One of Wonwoo’s hands reaches out, a finger tentatively brushing his cheek, cold as ice. “I can’t stand this.”

“I know,” Junhui murmurs soothingly, opening his eyes again to gaze upon Wonwoo fondly. “I know, but if I were to banish you, you’d die.”

Wonwoo averts his eyes, a small breath of frustration escaping his nostrils. “If we stay like this, you’ll be the one that dies. I can’t stop taking your life force unless you formally banish me.” 

“I won’t do it.”

Wonwoo’s eyes flash with something akin to desperation. “Jun, please-” 

Junhui places a finger to his lips, smiling playfully. “No, and that’s final. I’m going to sleep now.”

He turns over to lay with his body facing the opposite direction, satisfied when Wonwoo comes closer to cuddle despite his grumpy noises of exasperation. Wonwoo’s body is freezing cold against his own, and yet Junhui can’t help but feel warm when he nuzzles against him. 

He tries not to think about the fact that they’ll certainly have this exact same conversation the next day.

-

Junhui is aware that he doesn’t have much time left. He’d know even if Wonwoo didn’t make sure to remind him of it. It’s obvious that he’s a lot weaker now than he used to be despite working out practically every day.

It’s been seven years since Wonwoo first appeared in his life, and each one has brought upon more drastic harm to Junhui’s wellbeing. He remembers once asking Wonwoo why he had chosen him in the first place, to which Wonwoo had replied with a lengthy answer about being young and not knowing the implications of his decision. He’d looked so upset with himself that Junhui internally vowed never to mention it again.

Junhui can feel the guilt radiating off of Wonwoo practically every time he looks at Junhui, which in turn makes Junhui feel guilty, forming a never ending cycle. He tries to reassure Wonwoo often that he wants this, that time together with him is far more important to him than living a long life. After all, Junhui doesn’t believe that he’s meant for much anyways. 

Wonwoo seems to hate it even more when he says those types of things, so he often ends up silent, choked up and unable to say the million things he wants to for fear of further deteriorating Wonwoo’s mood.

-

It’s times like this when it really hits home that his time will soon be up. He’s dancing in the studio with Soonyoung and Minghao when he falls in the middle of the Highlight choreo, muscles twitching as he lies on the floor. He tries to steady his breathing, to get up, but can’t focus on anything. It’s blurry and loud and he’s suddenly in Minghao’s arms, warm brown eyes looking down at him filled with fear.

“Holy shit, Jun! Are you OK?”

He blinks, registering Soonyoung running up with a water bottle and granola bar. Minghao’s talking to him in Mandarin, asking if it’s low blood sugar, and he wills himself to sluggishly shake his head. Soonyoung is looking at him pointedly, and he shivers, understanding that Soonyoung knows what Minghao doesn’t, that Soonyoung can see the man in the corner of the room who follows Junhui like a shadow.

“It’s not low blood sugar,” Soonyoung says, voice devoid of emotion in a frighteningly uncharacteristic manner. Minghao looks over at him and Junhui gazes at his jaw dazedly. “You guys keeping a secret from me or something?”

Soonyoung’s gaze locks into Junhui’s when he raises his head, trying to get up. “Junhui’s dying.”

Minghao’s hand freezes on his neck. “What do you mean?”

“He’s got a little ghost buddy who’s sucking the life out of him,” Soonyoung says bitterly, tone once again completely uncharacteristic. Minghao whips his head to look at Junhui, who’s desperately searching around for Wonwoo. The man is nowhere to be seen, likely having panicked when Junhui collapsed. “Are you serious? How long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Minghao sounds upset, perhaps rightfully so, but Junhui’s head is throbbing too much to be able to handle confrontation at the moment. “I’m sick of being excluded because I can’t use magic! I thought we were best friends Jun, I would have tried to help you!”

“Minghao,” Soonyoung starts in warning, but it’s too late. Minghao gets up, storming out of the practice room and slamming the door behind him. For a few seconds it’s silent, and then Junhui sobs. 

Soonyoung waits a moment before plopping down next to him, looking awkward. “Minghao isn’t really mad at you, you know. He just needs some time to cool off.” 

Junhui lets out another big sob, not caring how pathetic it sounds. “I know, I just-“

He stops, hiccuping. “I don’t want to hurt anybody but it’s so hard because everything that I try to do to stop people from getting hurt just seems to hurt them even more and I have no idea what to do.”

“Junnie,” Soonyoung begins, somehow digesting his half-sobbed rant. “Why don’t you try telling that to Minghao a little later after he’s cooled down, okay? I’m one hundred percent sure he’ll accept your apology.” 

“Okay,” Junhui hiccups, blinking at Soonyoung through watery eyes. “Are you mad at me too?”

Soonyoung sighs. “Not mad. To be honest I’m not sure how I feel. I just want you to take care of yourself. I care about you a lot and I’m worried about you. Just remember that you can always come talk to me.”

Junhui nods, sniffling. “Thanks, Soonyoung. Sorry you always have to deal with my dramatic breakdowns.”

“You’re not anywhere near as bad as Seungkwan,” Soonyoung jokes, playfully jostling him. “Now why don’t you go home and try to rest a bit. I’ll stay here and pack up.”

Junhui manages to mumble an okay, fumbling his way out the door and stumbling through the hallways of the campus. He isn’t sure where exactly he’s going but he keeps walking, faces blurring past.

In the back of his head, there’s a pulsing thought urging him to find Wonwoo and make sure he’s okay. He starts to hurry his steps, peering left and right through the crowd as if he will somehow be able to spot him.

Finally, Junhui reaches a courtyard, gazing past the flowers to a bed of vegetables. Wonwoo sits on the stone rim of the vegetable garden, stem of a plant in his hand, eyes glaring at the leaves as if they’ve wronged him.

“Wonwoo!”

The man turns his head sharply, staring at Junhui without letting go of the plant. “I’m okay, sorry if I scared you.” 

Wonwoo looks at him for a moment longer and swallows, adam’s apple bobbing noticeably. “Jun,” he begins, low and calm.

“I'm going to leave for a while. I’m going to go to the other side of the world and hope that the distance between us can slow down what’s happening to you.”

Jun’s breath catches in his throat. “Wonu,”

“I was hoping to be mean about this. I was hoping to say a lot of cruel things and make you hate me to try and get you to banish me while I’m gone, but I can’t. I can’t say them when you’re in front of me.”

He looks away for a moment, looking extremely pained. “I don’t know how much time this will buy you, but I know it’ll buy you some. Goodbye, Jun.”

Junhui steps forwards, shocked, watching as Wonwoo disappears, small tendrils of smoke remaining in his wake. He walks forwards in a stupor, staring at the plant that Wonwoo had been holding.

It’s withered horribly, blackened and curled, looking almost as if it had been struck by lightning. 

Junhui wishes he could be struck by lightning.

-

He shows up at Minghao’s apartment the next day with a box of jelly candies, figuring he can’t lose both of the two most important people in his life.

Minghao opens the door and invites him in without much of a fuss, seeming to have calmed down quite a bit since the events of the previous day.

“Haohao,” he starts quietly. “I want to apologize. I thought I was protecting you from getting hurt by hiding what was happening from you. I was worried that you’d be bothered if you knew the truth. It was really stupid of me to try and hide it and I’m sorry. I haven’t been thinking clearly. You mean a lot to me and I don’t want you to think I’m looking down on you because you’re non magical or anything like that.”

Minghao watches him closely through his apology, allowing a soft smile to curl up on his lips at the end. “I figured that, Junnie. I’m still feeling a little betrayed that you didn’t tell me but that’s something that will heal with time.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Junhui murmurs, shyly pushing over the box of jelly candies. “Thanks for listening and not kicking me out.”

Minghao rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t kick you out, dumbass. Anyways, now that I know about it, give me the details on this ghost. I think I might be able to help you.”

A rush of emotions floods over Junhui, the fresh sadness of Wonwoo’s departure hitting him like a raw fish in the face at the marketplace. “Well, he’s been with me for seven years now. His name’s Wonwoo. I refuse to banish him but my time seems to be almost up. He left yesterday for America to try to buy me more time by being apart from me.”

Minghao leans forwards onto the table. “Have I ever told you that my mother was a witch?”

“Yeah, why?” Junhui asks, uncertain of how it fits into the conversation. “When she was in her twenties, she had a similar experience to you. She made friends with the spirit who was draining her life force and couldn’t bear to banish her. She ended up making a deal with a wandering demon. He set the spirit free and let her go and in return she gave him her eyes which were gifted with premonitions.”

Junhui stares, shocked. “Wait, did the spirit still have to consume people in order to survive after that?”

Minghao shakes his head in reply. “Nope. A lot of people told my mom she should have just banished her but both of them were a lot happier the way things actually turned out.”

“Do you happen to have any idea where I could find a demon?” Junhui asks, eyes widening with hope. Minghao nods. “I do know a place actually. Finding him is easy, but making a deal with him is going to be the difficult part.”

“I have to try,” Junhui breathes, determined. He stops then, peering at Minghao curiously. “Wait, how do you know about this demon?”

Minghao looks a bit uncomfortable. “Well, he’s sort of an acquaintance. Demons are visible to us non magical people. He’ll probably be nicer to you if I go along with you but I don’t know exactly what he’s going to ask for in return for breaking your bond.”

“Whatever it is, it’s gotta be better than me dying and Wonwoo having to keep living in misery.”

Minghao grunts in agreement, grabbing a key ring and a helmet from the nearby table. “Let’s go then. No time to waste.”

-

It takes about an hour of driving to reach the place, at the end of which Junhui has no desire to ever sit upon a motorcycle again. He gets off feeling like he’s inhaled enough exhaust to take several days off his already limited lifespan.

Minghao looks mildly amused at his struggle, gesturing him towards what looks like a cliff overlooking the ocean. “It’s this way,” he states. “There’s a little path down the cliff.”

Junhui follows after him, feeling the wind whipping against his skin and through his hair. He almost wishes he’d worn thicker clothing.

Minghao reaches the edge and jumps down onto what Junhui thinks can barely even be considered a path. It looks like a thing ledge of rock jutting out from the cliff face. He blanches a little but reluctantly slips down onto it, trying not to look at the waves below. 

As they make their way across the precariously small ledge, Junhui sees the cave up ahead. He can’t help but wonder what the demon looks like as they approach. 

Finally, they reach the opening. Minghao raps his fist against the cave wall, calling out. “Mingyu?”

They step inside warily, and before Junhui can blink Minghao is being bowled over by a puppy-like man who seems incredibly excited to see him. “Hi, Hao! You never visit me anymore. What’s the occasion?”

Junhui is certain that Minghao looks a little bit guilty as he clears his throat, pushing the man off him. “My friend here, he has a spirit sticking on to him that he doesn’t want to banish. We wanted to see if you could break the bond between them.”

‘Mingyu’ peers at him, looking not at all like any of the dozen demon pictures Junhui had thought up in his head. “As much as I’d love to help you, I don’t have powerful enough magic to break a bond that strong.”

Minghao stiffens and Junhui’s shoulders slump. Mingyu waves his arms panickedly, almost hitting Minghao in the face. “Wait, wait! Don’t get all sad! I can call somebody here that can help you but I have no guarantees that they’ll be nice about it.”

“That’s fine,” Minghao murmurs, visibly relaxing. “Thanks, Mingyu.”

“Anything for you Hao!” The other man shouts, voice louder than necessary in such a small space. Junhui reminds himself to ask about their relationship later.

Mingyu steps backwards away from the two of them, closing his eyes and seeming to concentrate. For a few seconds, there is silence, and then out of nowhere a strange looking little man appears. 

In contrast to Mingyu, who looks identical to a human, the man appears like a caricature of a monster. His skin is red and wrinkly, two little horns sticking out of his head. He looks at Junhui with disdain.

“Alright, alright,” he starts, voice gravelly. “So you want me to break this bond. Cool, whatever, consider it done. What I want to know is what you have to offer me in return.”

Junhui looks at Minghao for help but his friend seems to have none to offer. “You can have anything of mine you want,” he says, trying not to sound too desperate.

In a second, it’s as if time has frozen. Mingyu and Minghao stand on the other side of the room, unblinking and unbreathing. He himself is unable to move, staring ahead as the demon walks up, cane in hand. 

He pokes at Junhui’s stomach and Junhui feels intense pain the likes of which he’s never experienced before. It’s like a drill going through all his organs and churning them up. 

“Anything of yours I want,” the demon muses, staring at Junhui’s face. He taps his cane into Junhui’s side and the pain is back, even more intense than the last bout. He feels his head swim with agony and can’t help but think of a certain person who’s always helped him through pain before.

“Wonwoo,” he tries to say, but nothing comes out, his mouth barely moving. The demon laughs. “Your boyfriend can’t help you right no-“

As if to prove him wrong, a hand materializes on Junhui’s shoulder, fingers cold. Junhui wants to shudder in relief as he hears his voice. “What the fuck is this?”

The demon pouts. “Oh, you’re no fun. How about this, then? I’ll take your human blood and organs and in return break the bond.”

“Deal,” Junhui says immediately mouth unfrozen, not even knowing the implications of such a statement. Wonwoo’s fingers dig into his shoulders. “Jun, no!”

Junhui meets eyes with the demon, who smiles at him. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement. Goodbye now, pleasure doing business with you.”

Just like that, he’s gone. Junhui collapses to the floor, feeling as though his body has been turned inside out. Wonwoo falls to his side and Minghao rushes over, both looking shocked.

“Jun,” Wonwoo mumbles, holding his head in his lap. “Moon Junnie. What have you done this time?”

Junhui looks up at him, shivering and shuddering through the pain, glancing over at Minghao to realize that he too is looking at Wonwoo. Junhui feels a wave of gratification through his agony. It worked. Wonwoo must be a free spirit if Minghao can see him.

“What’s happening to him?” 

It’s Minghao who speaks, looking down at him almost fearfully. “He’s becoming a wraith,” Mingyu answers from the opposite side of the room. “It’ll be painful at first but after a while he’ll get used to it. It’s not necessarily a bad lifestyle, just a different one. I’ve heard they can’t go out much during the day and they have some issues with physical weakness.”

Wonwoo rocks Junhui’s head back and forth in his lap as he whimpers. Almost as an afterthought, Mingyu adds, “Also you can’t eat anymore, which is like, the worst punishment ever.”

Junhui blinks up at Wonwoo, feeling euphoric despite everything. “We get to live together,” he says excitedly. 

Wonwoo still looks guilty. “You loved the sunshine,” he murmurs. “You won’t be able to enjoy it now.”

“Like that’s any price to pay for being able to spend my life with you,” Junhui replies, almost laughing at the absurdity. “And don’t you dare pull that “you should have just banished me” stuff or I’ll get up and kick you, pain be damned.”

Wonwoo smiles. “Fine, whatever. I don’t want to argue with you while you’re in this much pain. I should take you back to your house.”

Junhui counts that as a win and cheers for himself internally.

Minghao clears his throat and Junhui whips his head towards him. “Haohao,” he starts. “Thanks for everything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the other boy dismisses. “I didn’t do much anyways. Just, let Wonwoo take care of you when you get home, okay? Call me when you feel better, I need to talk to Mingyu real quick.”

“Okay,” Junhui replies tiredly, feeling Wonwoo’s arms shift around him. Wonwoo lifts him up, tightening his grip. “You know,” he starts, “I never told you about this option because I was worried you’d do something like this but I guess the one plus side is I can now use my magic on you.”

Junhui looks up at him, confused. “You’re sort of a spirit now, which means we can teleport together,” Wonwoo explains. Junhui blinks, not fully digesting the information until he’s laying on his bed, Wonwoo standing at his side.

Wonwoo leans down to kiss his forehead, careful as ever. “I’ll try to find some medicine, okay? I don’t know if any of it will work for you, but we can see. If you need to, go ahead and doze off.”

Junhui nods, feeling his body shudder again. “Okay,” he says softly, and for the first time in the last seven years, he feels like things might actually be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading love u


End file.
